• Friday, March 29, 2024
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PDP undecided on zoning, says Buhari not in charge

PDP hosts APC defectors in Abuja

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has yet to decide on the zoning, National Chairman Uche Secondus said on Thursday.

He also said the business of government had crumbled under President Muhammadu Buhari where nobody seems to be in charge.

Secondus spoke at a media parley in Abuja where he gave accounts of his stewardship for three years.

He said the PDP was waiting for the report of Governor Bala Mohammed-led appraisal committee on why the party lost the 2019 presidential election to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

He said, “After the general election, we set up a panel to study and appraise our performance and make necessary recommendations. The Governor of Bauchi state, H.E Alhaji Bala Mohammed is heading the committee and they are still working.

“We did the same thing when we lost the election in 2015 when we set up the Senator Ike Ekweremadu committee to look into why we lost. It was from that report that the party took action towards 2019.

Read also: PDP mocks APC over botched membership Drive

“The same way this time, we must study our last outing before looking ahead. We can’t be talking of zoning when we have not appraised how we faired in the last election.

“Moreover, the state of the nation today is such that politics or anything concerning 2023 of three years away should take backstage. Nigeria is in a comatose state today where APC brought it, that should be our concern now.”

However, the national chairman refused to rule out former President Goodluck Jonathan from the 2023 race.

He said, “By the time they (appraisal committee) finish, we will take decisions and the decision is not for the National Working Committee (NWC) but for the entirety of our party. And I believe that whoever that is interested in 2023, maybe including the former President, the chances are there because the PDP is a party of all.”

Secondus criticised the president for not honouring the summon of the House of Representatives on the security challenges facing the nation, after earlier confirming attendance.

He said, “That signalled that nobody is in charge and that this is a broken government.”

He added, “Disregarding the nation’s parliament is disregarding Nigeria’s people because they are representatives of the people. The truth, which is worrisome, is that the President either does not know what is happening or does know what to do. Otherwise, he should not be afraid to face the people.

“The hard fact facing all of us now is that this regime has woefully failed Nigerians in all ramifications.

“It’s a shame that a government that came to power brandishing its military credential as a General with the propaganda to wipe away Boko Haram in 100 days is there five years plus presiding over the worst security situation in our history with no clear direction of what to do and even afraid to face the country’s the parliament to explain what he is doing.*

Secondus advised the APC to face governance and stop running after politicians to join the party.

He said the party would make the youth top priority in its agenda if given another chance.

‘The well laid out program of youth development by the PDP will ensure that the future of this country is handed over to those it rightly belongs to, the Nigeria youths.

“We have watched the hopelessness of Nigeria youths under APC administration because its cabinet is made of largely the outgoing generation who think less of the future because it does not belong to them.”

Secondus also promised that the PDP would carry out reforms in the security and make the country safe for foreign investors.

“When you talk for instance the security issue, Nigeria cannot continue to operate that old system of central command structure of old security architecture.

“We will come out with new digital security architecture for the country because the security of lives and property is very important first before we talk about even the economy. If the place is not safe, foreign investors will not come to invest. So we will make life safe here in Nigeria for foreigners to come and invest.”